Jim Carter serves ‘Downton Abbey’ as its beloved butler

Associated Press

Published
11:24 am PST, Wednesday, December 30, 2015

This photo provided by PBS shows Jim Carter, left, as Mr Carson and Phyllis Logan as Mrs Hughes from series six of "Downton Abbey." "Downton" returns for its sixth and final season, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, at 9 p.m. EST on PBS. (Nick Briggs/PBS/Carnival Film & Television Ltd for MASTERPIECE via AP) USE ON THIRD PARTY SITES SUCH AS FACEBOOK AND TWITTER IS NOT ALLOWED. less

This photo provided by PBS shows Jim Carter, left, as Mr Carson and Phyllis Logan as Mrs Hughes from series six of "Downton Abbey." "Downton" returns for its sixth and final season, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, at 9 ... more

Photo: Nick Briggs, Associated Press

Photo: Nick Briggs, Associated Press

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This photo provided by PBS shows Jim Carter, left, as Mr Carson and Phyllis Logan as Mrs Hughes from series six of "Downton Abbey." "Downton" returns for its sixth and final season, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, at 9 p.m. EST on PBS. (Nick Briggs/PBS/Carnival Film & Television Ltd for MASTERPIECE via AP) USE ON THIRD PARTY SITES SUCH AS FACEBOOK AND TWITTER IS NOT ALLOWED. less

This photo provided by PBS shows Jim Carter, left, as Mr Carson and Phyllis Logan as Mrs Hughes from series six of "Downton Abbey." "Downton" returns for its sixth and final season, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, at 9 ... more

Photo: Nick Briggs, Associated Press

Jim Carter serves ‘Downton Abbey’ as its beloved butler

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NEW YORK — In the grand domain of splendid characters in “Downton Abbey,” Mr. Carson is perhaps the first among equals. Among the superb cast, a similarly towering figure is Jim Carter, who plays him.

After all, this is the saga of a noble estate and those who populate it during Britain’s post-Edwardian era, and Mr. Carson, as its butler, is the one who makes that house run. He bridges the gap between the upstairs elite and the servants bustling downstairs. His word, putting forward the policies and whims of the aristocratic Crawley clan, is law for those in his charge.

Bringing him to life is an actor who makes Carson’s crustiness heroic, his unwavering sense of duty lovable to the viewer.

With “Downton” returning for its sixth and final season (Sunday, Jan. 3, at 9 p.m. on PBS), Mr. Carson’s humanness will be exposed more than ever as his torturously arm’s-length courtship of housekeeper Mrs. Hughes (played by Phyllis Logan) finally blossoms.

“It was the slowest-burning romance of all times,” says Carter with a laugh. “But the audience seemed to want it to happen — as did we.”

What happens, including an unlikely interlude in this first episode “which hopefully will melt hearts across the country,” is only one among many resolutions as the series comes in for a landing in the mid-1920s. What will be the fate of the financially distressed Downton Abbey estate, presided over by Lord and Lady Crawley (Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern) with a less and less sure hand? Will their daughter, headstrong Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), deign to say yes to her latest suitor? Will beleagured valet Mr. Bates (Brendan Coyle) and his wife, lady’s maid Anna (Joanne Froggatt), see their dream of parenthood cruelly denied?

Viewers have awaited these and other answers from a costume drama that, since its U.S. debut five years ago, has reigned as a lavish and literate phenomenon.

For the British-born Carter, 67, the road to “Downton” began long ago when he dropped out of law studies at the University of Sussex and joined a fringe theater troupe he equates with “a door to the promised land.”

Stage, film and TV jobs followed in a career that has kept him busy and happy, enjoying each role free from worry over how the finished product might fare with critics or the public.

“I have no ambitions in the acting world,” he explains. “I just need to get out of the house and work and be with people.”

But after auditioning for Mr. Carson, says, “I came away thinking, ‘I should be very cross if I don’t get it.’”

One thing he particularly liked was how Carson’s starchiness and pomp had a humorous edge.

Julian Fellowes, who created “Downton Abbey” and wrote every episode, “knows it’s funny when my character says things like, ‘A maid in the dining room with a duke? Over my dead body!’ And I relish playing those moments.”

Carter (like the actor who plays him) cuts an imposing figure. Here is a big man with a broad, expressive face and, maybe most pronounced of all, the rolling, stentorian voice, a treat for anyone in earshot.

His presence, and the voice, has made Carter recognized by “Downton” fans around the world.

“In Boston the other day, 30 times I was approached,” he reports. “Nashville, Tenn. Cambodia. Ghana. After 45 years of acting, ‘Downton’ is an unsought bonus, because I’ve never worked for money or celebrity.”

This “Gypsy caravan” approach to his career saved him from dwelling on his imminent departure from “Downton,” even while shooting a final scene with a swell of co-stars in the downstairs hall where servants take their meals.

“When we wrapped, the other actors were getting weepy, and I thought, ‘C’mon!’ But then the producers came out and thanked them, and I thought, ‘We’ve got to thank the crew, too, because they’ve been with us every inch of the way.’ So I said, ‘Guys, all your hard work, your artistry —’ And suddenly I couldn’t speak. I began to weep along with the other actors and all these big tattooed guys on the crew with tears pouring down their faces.”